Tustable
Tustable is an impery that is mentioned in Might and Magic: The Dreamwright and appears in Might and Magic: The Shadowsmith. It was located in the Siccative, near the Blasted Lands. Like other imperies, it was made of black volcanic rock and constructed in concentric rings around the base of an ancient volcano. When Diligence's caravan was looking for an impery on their way to the Unseen Wall, they planned on going to Tustable, but learned from Grapple and the other yeofolk handler that the place had been overrun by a coalition of rockrasps and little winding men. They decided to go to Old Hopshog instead. Some weeks later, Hitch's group was traveling through the Siccative in the remains of one of the caravan's wagons, trying to reach the golden ship. They ended up at Tustable, and explored the empty impery for a few hours before remembering the warning they'd been given. That night, a group of rockrasps tried to tumble the walls down on their wagon, but the group managed to escape, and fled into the underground tunnels. They wandered in the darkness for hours before discovering an ancient cage of cold fire near a wall, and gradually realized that the wall was actually a large door. Here, they found a egg-shaped car that traveled on a ribbon of silver metal. The ribbon was three inches wide and eighteen inches tall. Jassad Attqua managed to get the car going, and it moved with such speed, Hitch felt as if his skin was being clawed from his face. The ribbon led to a massive cave, with a vast, white floor beneath them, and they soon saw the remains of an ancient, highly technologically advanced city. The houses were made of transparent glass, like the dwellings of Toime, but far more advanced. Exploring the city, Hitch and Jassad eventually found two large bronze statues standing guard near a door. When Hitch held the Staff of Blue Light near them, one of them bowed before him and introduced itself as Carverax, and proclaimed that it would serve him "until the oldest sun dwindles into a cinder". The other statue, Hardarken, had broken down during the long ages they had been standing there, and was unresponsive. Through the door, they found a ring-shaped chamber with a band of arching panels on the floor. When Hitch accidentally activated the portals with the staff, Jassad fell through, and the portal deactivated before Hitch could follow him. He got back in the egg car to bring Varve and the tinderboy to the portals, believing that it would lead them to the crystal palace, but was stopped by a hooded figure. The stranger gave him a golden cap to put on the end of the staff, and told him how to use it to open and close portals. When Hitch reached the others, they spotted the soldiers of Dubiel arriving in the area, and fled to the room of portals. As they tried to figure out how to operate the portals, a collection of massive, black shapes loomed in the doorway, and the air was filled with tiny, noxious pellets. As they hid behind the machinery, they realized that their attackers were yeofolk, led by smaller creatures in dark purple cloaks, similar to the creature Diligence had described seeing beneath Old Hopshog. While Carverax defended them from the attackers, Hitch managed to open the portal, and they left the area. The attack of the yefolk was one of the signs in the novels that they were more than simple-minded herd animals. According to the author, this would have been developed in the third, unfinished novel. Category:Dreamwright & Shadowsmith locations